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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. row — a line
  4. degree — an amount
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — of the year
  11. row — to paddle
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. race — humankind
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stock — shares
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com